“As per the minister’s order, the process of identifying such illegal fishing farms has been completed. During the identification process, the state forest department identified 1,600 hectares of land which could be freed of encroachment by illegal fishing farms and the original mangrove forestland can be restored,” said a state forest department official involved with the process. “The erstwhile mangrove forest land was first destroyed in a well-planned manner over a substantial period of time by building dams in the area to block the natural flow of water during the tides. Once the demolition process is completed, planting of mangrove saplings over these 1,600 hectares of land will start,” the state forest department official said. “The state forest minister had given clear instructions for taking strong action against each person involved in the nexus as per legal provisions,” the state forest department official said.